Elsa Van Helsing's Graduation Day
by xenon3000
Summary: Elsa Van Helsing is graduating from New Holland High School as the class valedictorian. It's meant to be a joyous occasion, but it's not for Elsa.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Frankenweenie belongs to The Walt Disney Company.**

It was June 13th, the day of the graduation ceremony for New Holland High School.

It should have been a sunny day, but the sky was filled with gray clouds instead.

It should have been a happy day, but for Elsa Van Helsing, it was a sad day. First, she would be starting college in the fall and had no idea what she would major in. Second, she would really miss Victor while she was away at college. Third, the graduation ceremony that was supposed to be a reward seemed more like a punishment to Elsa Van Helsing. She was the class valedictorian, which meant she would have to make a valedictorian speech. And she was no more comfortable performing in public than she had been as the Little Dutch Girl years ago.

She had written a speech, and practiced it before a mirror and before her parents and uncle multiple times. But no practice session would be the same as delivering the speech in the New Holland Theater in front of thousands of people.

Now it was her big day, and Elsa was nervous. No, nervous would be an understatement. Petrified would be a more appropriate word to describe Elsa right now. Elsa did not get very much sleep.

She looked at the clock on her nightstand. It was 5:01 AM.

She wished there was a way out. Any way out. She should have done something to get out of this sooner. Maybe if she failed to turn in one homework assignment or gotten an exam answer wrong on purpose, she wouldn't be in this mess.

She couldn't pretend to be sick. She was no good at pretending to be anything or anyone.

Maybe she could get in some kind of trouble and get barred from attending the graduation ceremony. No, she was too afraid to make her uncle angry to do so. And she didn't want to hurt her uncle's chances of being reelected mayor.

Maybe the weather would get so bad that the graduation ceremony would have to be cancelled and everyone would get their diplomas in the mail. There could be a tornado or a flash flood. Either of those disasters would do the trick.

Maybe a sinkhole would open up underneath the house in such a way that she would be killed, but her parents and uncle would live. That would be quite a headline in the local newspaper. NEW HOLLAND HIGH VALEDICTORIAN DIES ON EVE OF HER GRADUATION.

She climbed back in bed and pretended to be asleep.

5:30 AM.

6:00 AM.

6:30 AM.

7:00 AM.

"Good morning, Elsa!", said Mr. Burgermeister. "Or, should I say, Good Morning, New Holland High Valedictorian!"

"Thank you," Elsa replied. She tried to sound happy, but if you listened closely, it would be all too clear she was not.

 **This is only the beginning.**


	2. Chapter 2

Elsa crawled out of bed and headed downstairs to eat breakfast. She had plenty of time. The graduation ceremony would not begin until 10:30 AM.

She was pleased to see a poster reading "Congratulations, Elsa!" in the kitchen. Not only was there a poster, but there was food set out for her as well. Specifically, there was a bowl of Cheerios with mint cookies on top of the bowl. Which meant she would have to eat the cookies first, and then the Cheerios. She did that, and she also ate an apple and drank a glass of milk.

Now to get ready. Normally Elsa brushed her teeth for two minutes, but today, she brushed them for almost five. If her valedictorian speech did not go well, as least her teeth would be white.

She brushed her hair and proceeded to get dressed. Her graduation cap and gown were both black. She also wore a blue honor sash for being summa cum laude, and a medal for being valedictorian. When she turned to look at herself in the mirror, the reality of what was about to come sank in. She began to tremble. Her hands felt cold as ice. Her mouth felt like cotton balls.

Elsa's mother knocked. "May I come in?"

"Yes," answered Elsa.

The door opened. "Elsa, you look so beautiful and accomplished! But don't get in the car just yet. Your father wants to take pictures first."

Pictures. Good idea. Posing for pictures for a single photographer could get tedious, but it sounded a lot better than making a valedictorian speech. Hey, maybe her father would get so focused on taking pictures they would lose track of time, rush to the auditorium, arrive too late and she would be barred from attending the graduation ceremony. As she posed for pictures, she wondered, _If I am so nervous, how does Victor feel? Is he as nervous as me right now?_ She thought about asking if she could walk next door to talk to Victor, but decided not to.

Her hopes of missing her graduation ceremony were dashed when she heard her mother say, "Time to go," and she looked and saw the clock read 9:50 AM.

They all hopped in the car. Her parents sat in the back, and Elsa and her uncle sat up front. Halfway through the trip, ther had to stop at a railroad crossing. There was hope! Maybe the train would abruptly stop on the track, and it would be so long there would be no way around it. That would make for a more humorous newspaper headline. NEW HOLLAND VALEDICTORIAN MISSES GRADUATION CEREMONY DUE TO TRAIN.

But Elsa's hopes were dashed. The train disappeared. And before she knew it, she was being dropped off in front of the auditorium.

"Remember to make me proud," her uncle said sternly.

"You've got plenty of time," her father chimed in more cheerfully. "Congratulations. Have fun!"

Elsa hopped out of the car, thinking in response to her father's words, _I wish I could._

 **Stay tuned for the next chapter...**


	3. Chapter 3

Elsa walked up the steps, through the door, and into the meeting room where the graduates were waiting before the procession started.

She had to find Victor. Victor was the only person who could help her. Victor was the only person who she could confide in. She wished she could have told her parents or her uncle how she really felt, but feared that doing so would only upset them.

She rushed through the crowd of graduates, past Nassor, Toshiaki, and Weird Girl. The longer she looked, the more desperate she became.

Finally, she found Victor. Victor appeared to be everything Elsa was not. He was calm, composed, and upbeat. Also, he was wearing the same blue summa cum laude sash Elsa was wearing. "Hi, Elsa!" he enthusiastically proclaimed.

"How are you doing?" asked Elsa.

"I'm eager to get my high school diploma so I can begin the pre-vetrinary program at Penn State," was Victor's answer.

"I wish I shared your enthusiasm, but I'm scared to death right now," Elsa admitted. "What if I really mess up my valedictorian speech? Will they not give me my diploma? And what will my uncle think?"

"They won't withhold your diploma unless you say any bad words in your valedictorian speech," Victor reassured her. "Have you gotten the chance to practice your speech?"

"Yes, dozens of times, but only for three people. This is different. I'll be speaking to thousands of people. This is even worse than when I was the Dutch Day singer."

"When I started playing baseball, I was pretty nervous too. But I got past it by breathing deeply and imagining a movie in my mind of what the baseball would see if it got knocked out of the park. That helped a lot."

"Thanks. I'll try that. I hope that helps.". Elsa left Victor and went to take her place in line. She found taking deep breaths helped a little, but not enough. She needed to visualize something pleasant, but what?

The music began to play. The procession started. Elsa took her seat. She breathed as deeply as she could through her nose so as not to make too much noise. She struggled to visualize something pleasant, but she could not do so. Could she ever do so?

The principal began speaking. Elsa would be making her speech shortly-or would she?

Maybe at some point, the principal would announce that there had been a mistake, that Elsa Van Helsing was not really the valedictorian and someone else was. Maybe that someone would be Victor. Victor would do better at this than she would.

That pleasant thought entertained her until she heard the words, "Ladies and gentlemen, I now present the New Holland High School Valedictorian, Elsa Van Helsing!"

Elsa gulped. _This is it. It's too late to escape now._

She stood up, walked on stage, and approached the podium. When she stepped up to the podium, she looked around for something, anything that would give her a pleasant visual image. Then, amazingly, miraculously, she saw Victor's face in the crowd, even though it was so far away.

That was all she needed.

As she began by thanking all her teachers, she imagined herself and Victor walking down a spiral staircase. But it was no ordinary spiral staircase. It was the spiral staircase leading down to the main hall of a royal castle. Victor was wearing a spiffy military-like uniform and Elsa was wearing a long sparkling gown with a necklace and a tiara.

She proceeded to thank her parents, imagining Victor's parents as the King and Queen of the castle. When they got close enough, Victor bowed and Elsa curtsied.

She closed by reading off a famous quote, imagining her and Victor dancing to beautiful music. Now she was calmer than she had been all day.

And then her speech was over. Elsa shook hands with the principal, was handed her diploma, and returned to her seat.

The ceremony ended, and Elsa returned home with her family. She posed for more pictures and opened several gifts. Now she was truly, genuinely happy.

And finally, it was time to go to bed. Elsa slept soundly. When she woke up the next morning, she realized she learned something wonderful at her graduation ceremony. What we visualize in our minds can be more amazing than what we see with our eyes.

 **The End.**


End file.
